Riley
by littlekitsune1
Summary: Rated for language and character death. Exploring how Riley may have died, and the impact it had on Ellie.


A/N: Just a drabble for a character that gets no love… I recently got ahold of the Last of Us comics: "American Dreams" and felt the pull on my muse to finish Riley and Ellie's story the way it played out in my head. It is never confirmed just how Riley apparently died, so keep in mind this is just my take on it.

Wow, Ellie was so different back then – less confident before Riley influenced her – and it was both fun and a challenge to portray her that way.

…

If there was one thing Ellie wished she could change about the old world, it was the buildings.

Wind whipped the girl's hair into her stinging eyes and she gulped in desperate breaths against the burning sensation the altitude left in her throat.

Why were they so damn tall and hard to navigate, anyway? Which architect had the inferiority complex against birds?

Huffing, Ellie descended to her destination. Looking around, she noticed she was the only one there, and reached into her coat pocket to take out a small walkie talkie. Turning it on, she changed it to the appropriate channel and grinned when the familiar voice echoed through.

_Kzzt… Kzzt…_

"_Ellie?"_

She lifted it to her lips. "Yeah, I'm here. Where are you?"

"_Ugh, sorry… I got held up with perimeter duty. I'm almost there – I can see the mall from here."_

"Cool. Meet me in front of Winston's post, Riley. Looks like the old man's out with his unit for now."

The other line was silent for a minute before Riley answered, _"Thank god, I can finally have a little drink… Marlene found my stash and now I've been officially dry for three days."_

Ellie huffed a laugh into the speaker. "I still say the stuff tastes like shit."

"_And that's why you'll never be crazier than me, new girl. You need to loosen up a bit. Hold on, I think I see you, there."_

Looking up, Ellie spied a dark silhouette entering the mall courtyard, and waved minutely. The figure waved back.

Safety confirmed, Riley stepped out of the shadows, her olive skin darkened further with grime. Ellie rubbed at her nose before approaching her friend, but the girl moved past her and into the dim tent that sat secluded in the middle of the area.

"Where's the old guy keep his booze? Do you know?"

Ellie only shook her head. "You're hopeless."

Digging through the clothes and other assortment of items, Riley finally emerged victorious from beneath his bed. "Found some!"

"Yeah, how long until that one gets confiscated?"

"Hey, I work hard. I deserve something." Riley sat down and popped open the bottle, seeming in heaven as she took a swallow of the vile substance. Ellie wrinkled her nose.

"So, Ellie," the other girl started, "How's life in prison?"

She snorted. "Does Hell ever get better?"

Riley grinned. "That bad, huh?"

Ellie shrugged.

"Shit, man… You should really talk to Marlene again."

Riley had been an official member of the Fireflies for a few weeks, now. Their leader still refused to let Ellie anywhere near it as of yet, but the pressures of short staff had finally broken the woman as far as Riley went. She was at the age where the military expected her to wield a gun, anyway.

They lived separated now, but every so often, they would sneak out to meet like this. If Marlene knew about it, she didn't say anything.

Ellie looked away and shrugged again. "I don't care about the Fireflies. It doesn't matter which side I'm killing for, the people aren't going to appreciate it any more than they do, now. The only side that matters is your own."

They were both silent for a moment, before she continued, "Anyway, she was pretty adamant about it. I don't think she's going to change her mind."

Brown eyes watched her solemnly before the other girl suddenly rose, grabbing Ellie's arm and tugging.

Ellie looked at the hand gripping her and furrowed her brows, wondering if she'd upset her friend. "What-"

"You need cheering up," she interjected. "You're bumming me out. I know a great place for you, c'mon."

…

"Should be around here, somewhere…" Riley muttered to herself, rounding a corner.

Ellie followed suit, blowing a raspberry out her lips in exasperation. "Are we done, yet? You've dragged me all over the fucking place."

The girl ignored her, looking around until she finally cried out in triumph and pointed. "There it is!"

Ellie turned to look. The letters "MUSI" hung precariously above the door. The other words had obviously succumbed to age and fallen off long ago. Ellie blinked before it sunk in just where Riley had brought her.

"You brought me to… a music store?"

Riley was not discouraged by the enigmatic response, and pushed her forward, into the shop. "Come on, I'll teach you about _real _music."

Ellie snapped to life, then, grabbing Riley's hand and pulling her around excitedly. "I can't believe there was a fucking music store, here!"

Riley roared with laughter at her friend's enthusiasm. "I thought you might like it. Now here – this is a _real _band. Their older stuff is the best, but-"

A crash startled them both out of their absorption. Ellie looked around with wide eyes.

"What was that-"

"Shh!" Riley commanded.

Moans of anguish carried through the empty corridors and to their ears.

"Infected."

"Shit," Ellie whispered harshly, the panic already rising as she crouched behind a shelf of CDs.

"Fuck," Riley echoed her sentiments and action, "Where the hell is Winston when you need him?"

"What do we do? Riley?"

Riley's expression was etched in ice as she peered up and around the cases. Ellie determined it was a justified look, as she could hear more than one stumbling around outside the store in addition to the one already inside. She hugged her knees.

"Okay…" the older girl whispered, "Keep very quiet and follow me. Understand?"

Ellie could only nod in response.

Riley silently picked up a dilapidated board – presumably fallen from the ceiling.

Crouching to keep low to the ground and out of sight, Riley slowly maneuvered her way around the shelves and cases of music. Ellie never left her shadow, keeping her footfalls light and nimble.

She didn't see the fallen CD until it was too late.

_Crack…_

It all happened quickly after that. Screams rattled their eardrums as the infected honed in, running at a speed Ellie's shorter legs could never hope to outmatch. Riley shot off like an arrow, shouting an order for Ellie to follow – an order she obeyed, as the creatures swarmed in.

The other girl's back bobbed and weaved in front of her as Ellie panted with exertion and fear.

"Riley!" she cried out desperately, seeing the older girl far outpaced herself.

Then her world careened sideways, cutting off her vision of Riley spinning around just in time to see her slammed to the floor by the hulking form.

Ellie let out a strangled cry of fear as the former human frantically clawed at the arm she was using to hold it off. She felt pain blossom across the flesh, but it barely registered as Riley's angry bellow drew her attention upward to where the other girl was rushing toward her.

"Behind you!" Ellie screeched, watching in horror as one of the creatures bowled her friend onto her side. The snapping jaws lunged downward, and hit their mark – ripping into the flesh of the girl's neck.

Riley shouted against the pain, blood painting her face as she shoved up against the infected man.

Crying out in protest, Ellie's heart thundered loudly in her ears as she wrestled against the grip on her arm again. Lashing out, she kicked against her captor, succeeding in loosening the hold. Then with a mighty cry of pure bloodlust, Ellie shot to her feet and charged the one holding her friend.

She felt the impact and the warmth against her hand as her mother's knife embedded itself in the attacker's temple.

Panting hard, Riley rose to her feet before grabbing the wooden board again and rushing Ellie with it raised. Confused, the girl could only stand and stare with wide eyes as her companion ran past her.

There was the sound of something being struck by the brunt of the wood before Ellie whirled around and focused her vision on the sight of Riley beating the fallen infected until it lie motionless.

More screeches echoed from down the hall, and the two exchanged a frantic glance before Riley was digging something out of her coat pocket.

"Run!" was all she said, before the room was enveloped in smoke.

Coughing, Ellie struggled against the acrid white cloud, and stumbled blindly. Reaching out her hand, she flailed it in front of her. Warm fingers closed around hers, and then they were moving like lightning, over the bodies and down a narrowly curving hallway.

"There! That door!" she heard Riley shout over the whooshing in her ears. Then she was being pulled through it, the slamming ringing out and bouncing off the walls of their small sanctuary so loudly that Ellie was sure every infected within a ten mile radius would be drawn to their location.

She didn't have time to worry about it, as Riley was suddenly speaking again, "Help me with this!"

The girl had let go of Ellie's hand and was heaving her shoulder's weight against a vending machine. Ellie pulled at the opposite side until it tipped over and crashed down to block the only entrance.

The two girls gulped down shuddering breaths, sliding to the floor almost in unison. Blood oozed from Riley's shoulder, and she brought up a hand to staunch it.

"Holy shit, that was intense," was all her friend said. "You good? It only got me, right?"

Ellie remained as she sat, not turning to face her or respond.

"Ellie?"

The redhead lifted a cautious hand to where her long sleeve was slowly saturating crimson. Riley's eyes followed the movement.

"No… Ellie, no…"

They had been bitten. Both of them had been bitten.

"What do we do?" Ellie stammered out, fear taking ahold of her. "Riley… Wh-what do we do, now?"

Riley's face was as solemn as stone as she answered simply, "We'll go back to the Fireflies. They'll know what to do-"

"No!" Ellie interrupted frantically. "Fuck no, Riley! They'll kill us!"

Without giving the other girl a chance to answer, Ellie threw herself at her. The blood was hot against her face as she buried it against her, heaving short and sharp gasps as she fought the tears.

Riley let out a heavy sigh and merely patted her friend's back before settling her into her side and wrapping an arm around Ellie's shoulders.

"Then let's stay here," she answered, and Ellie looked up from her shoulder in confusion. Riley gestured around the room. "It's secure; we won't be hurting anybody in here. We can just wait it out."

"You mean…?"

Riley grinned, but it lacked the usual spark of light. "It's Shakespearean shit, Ellie. We can be all poetic and just lose our minds together in our own private little oasis."

Ellie stared with wet green eyes.

"Hey," Riley started in a voice that said she was trying to be lighthearted if not for the wobble in her tone, "I doubt Marlene would let us live past the words 'shit luck.'"

A single tear fell from Ellie's cheek as she looked at the girl who was so much stronger than her. She could see the traces of white fungi already starting to push past Riley's olive skin, pulling at the edges of the wound. Her own arm throbbed dully, and imagining it in a similar state made her shudder involuntarily.

Riley had watched her own father tear her mother apart. In the end, she'd had to murder the monster he'd become, and had lived with that burden for years. Ellie suddenly felt small and ashamed of her tears. If Riley was strong enough to go through with this, even after everything she'd been through, then she could be, too.

Silently, she nodded.

…

They sat in silence for hours, just sharing the Walkman. Ellie had been surprised when Riley had asked if they could listen to it – she'd always complained Ellie had shit taste in music – but just sitting together like this, not having to think about what lay ahead, was oddly relaxing. Ellie felt her bristled nerves slowly smoothen out as she closed her eyes and entered the trance music often instilled in her.

_Drip… Drip… Drip…_

Her brow furrowed at the strange sound. It was thick and rhythmic, like droplets falling. She removed her single ear bud.

"Riley?"

Her friend's eyes were closed and her breathing was ragged. Her head was resting back against the wall, and thin trails of blood were trickling from her eyes, nose, and mouth.

"Oh my god…"

When the girl spoke, voice gravelly with pain, Ellie knew she'd never forget the words. "Don't let me turn on you, Ellie."

Riley turned to her, bloodshot eyes intense.

_Drip… Drip… Drip…_

The red beads pattered onto Riley's limp arm, sliding lazily down her wrist to create a macabre puddle.

The girl collapsed, then, and Ellie's arms shot out to steady her.

"Riley?!"

Her friend only closed her eyes again, and Ellie gulped down her own feelings. Gently gripping the head of black curls, she pulled Riley so that she was lying in her lap. Letting her fingers slowly thread through the coarse hair, Ellie choked on the lump in her throat.

This was all happening much faster than she thought it would. Too fast…

"You can't go before me. You can't leave me in here alone, okay?"

Riley coughed out a laugh, and Ellie ignored the hot spray that soaked through her pants. "What kind of asshole do you take me for, new girl? I'm just resting my eyes. When we go, we go together, so don't you leave me hanging, either."

Her throat constricted at the old nickname, and how she knew Riley's bite was so much deeper and closer to the brain than her own. "Of course I won't."

The next hour found Ellie and Riley drifting in and out of consciousness. The silence was broken only by the occasional grunt or moan of pain. Ellie could feel the infection pushing against her bloodstream violently on its way to her brain and never had anything hurt so badly. Riley was quieter, even though Ellie knew she had to be worse off.

Ellie watched Riley's wound transform into a grotesque abscess of pale fungus. The whites of her eyes were slowly yellowing, and her pupils dilated more with every minute that ticked by.

"Ellie…" she spoke weakly, her breathing deep and ragged.

"I won't let you…" the girl soothed, brushing her hand over the black hair in her lap. Tears swelled up behind her weary eyelids, but she blinked them back. Riley was quiet.

"When I start… start to turn," she finally spoke softly, "I want you to…"

Ellie squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "I can't… You can't _ask _me that, like it's-"

"Ellie," her tone was desperate and soft – so unlike her, "You're not getting worse, yet."

"I will," Ellie promised wildly, and it never struck her what an odd vow it was. "Just hold on a little while longer."

A pause. Then, "I always wondered… if my dad knew what he was doing when he turned on us. If he was just trapped inside a body that wouldn't do what he said…"

"Shh," Ellie hushed, not wanting to hear. "That isn't going to happen to you."

Riley fell silent again, and Ellie let her.

The other girl's breathing slowed, signifying her descent into sleep. Ellie closed her own eyes, resolved to keep vigil over their conditions.

…

Riley's eyes opened at dawn. However it was not her Riley looking back at her. The glazed brown eyes locked with her own green gaze, and Ellie merely stared back unblinkingly. Riley continued to watch her, nothing but the occasional moan or gurgle emerging from her lips as her eyes and breathing slowly shifted to intense alertness.

As if in a dream, Ellie's hand moved to her mother's knife. Riley watched her hand with riveted interest. Ellie closed her eyes for the briefest of moments and steadied herself.

Then, without warning, the girl that had once been her friend howled and lurched upwards.

With a cry, the knife came down. Riley screeched and writhed against her.

Bringing up her other arm, Ellie held her still and brought the knife down again. Then again.

Riley finally went still.

When the crushing silence weighed in around her, Ellie started to shake; unable to look down at the body as she released it from her grip to fall limply back into her lap. The knife fell from her hand with a dull clatter.

Bringing her bloodied hands to her face, she felt the tears that were leaking from her eyelids and let out a coarse wail. Covering the body with her own, she broke down and wept openly.

This was her fault. Riley had been bitten because she couldn't look after herself. And yet, she had broken their pact – she still wasn't changing. Why wasn't she changing?

For hours, she could do nothing but sob. Her arm throbbed weakly, constantly reminding her of the reality that she, for some reason, was not progressing towards her friend's fate. Blessed numbness followed the turmoil, and she finally lifted away from the girl to look down at her.

Riley's eyes were still glazed over with the infection, but were now dull from death. The lively spark was long gone from her expression, but was replaced by a profound air of peace for her condition that didn't belong on a face that young.

Ellie slowly reached up to draw the eyelids closed.

Another frozen hour passed, Ellie doing nothing but stroking her friend's hair in detached silence. The shock had left her reeling, and her mind shut everything down to protect itself from having to keep up. Ellie was fine with that. She didn't want to face this – not ever.

Gunshots and yelling – then heavy footfalls echoing down the hall brought her out of her trance. The door slammed open and Ellie's pupils contracted as the flashlights shone in and honed in on her face. People in filter masks were filing in, and Ellie stared at them in a daze.

"Oh god…" one of them spoke, and Marlene's face emerged from the mask.

Two tears trailed down Ellie's numb face as she looked at the woman. Her voice was small and cracked when she finally spoke, "I'm not infected… I'm not infected…"

…

Ellie lie swaddled in the thin ratty blanket of Marlene's bunk. The adults were talking – some yelling, others trying to shush the yellers. Marlene was pacing in front of the door, she could hear, but keeping mostly quiet.

Most of the Fireflies wanted her dead. Others were arguing to wait it out – see if her infection really was halting its own spread. She didn't know which Marlene was for, and she didn't much care right now.

She twirled Riley's Firefly pendant in her hands, tracing the engravings with a careful finger, and felt tears threaten her again.

She was alone. Painfully and utterly alone and she knew no one could mend this hole in her heart; gnawed open and raw by festering guilt and loss.

She would wait for her turn, whenever it decided to come. She would keep her promise.

…

A/N: The Art of The Last of Us reveals that the first symptom of cordyceps infection is blood coming out of the orifices. So that's how Ellie knew Riley's infection had truly kicked in before hers.

Painfully short, I know. I had always wanted to write about Ellie's survivor's guilt, and this was the best plot bunny I could catch to do so.

Thank you so much for reading!


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